Confused by MW advice......

[Sparrowlegs248]

DS is 11 days old. 9lb 1 when born, 8lb 9 when weighed on day 6 ( i think) 8lb 11 yesterday. Yestrdays mw had quite a lot to say about my feeding. So far everyone has said 'well done youre doing brilliantly' and 'just feed him when hecasks' Etc.

Sometimes he feeds constantly. Others he will go a couple of hours, up to 3 1/2 overnight. I have no idea what is normal. He does sick/spit up at all (has done twice) and doesnt get much wind. Because he has only put on a small amount of weight mw said i need to get him.to feed for as long as possible atva time, then hopefully he will go longer between feeds. She feels he is constantly 'topping up' and not feeding properly. Despite sometimes feeding firvAGES. But then said if hes showing hungry signs, feed him. Which is what i do - i dont feed him for no reason.....

So, i this clustr feeding normal? it resulted in feeds at 11, 2.30 and 7 overnight (the 2.30 feed lasted til almost 4)

Today he hasnt gone for more than about an hour or 90 minutes between feeds, often much much less. Until now, ithinknhe will snooze for a couple of hours then start again.

She also said he needs more nipple in his mouth but i have nonidea how to achienve this. He latches himself onnand doesnt fuss so i assume hes getting whst he needs.

[Sparrowlegs248]

I got very upset over this last night. Will attend a bf group once i can drive again but that might be a while.

[carriebrody]

Have a look on youtube for flipple/exaggerated latch technique to help with more nipple in his mouth.

Are you keeping him on one side when he feeds? Try switching sides every time he slows down or starts comfort sucking. The new side should get him interested again and he'll take more milk.

Cluster feeding and random gaps are completely normal, sounds like you are doing great.

[Clarella]

Hi!

It does sound normal - bf is very confusing sometimes! I can recommend calling the Nct, national
Breastfeeding or LA leche league helplines to chat about what to expect.

Latch real is the hardest thing to fully get right.tjen the little darlings grow and so does their mouth and they can loose their latch, or start guzzling extra, including air which causes burps and spit ups!

The best latch should really create no wind but much easier said than done, YouTube is really helpful actually.

www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=drjack

This guy is really amazing too; his fb page has lots of advice and he's on you tube too. The videos are especially helpful; I'm wondering if breast compressions might help you - Google breast compression jack Newman on YouTube to see how it works.

Definitely try to get a feed observed though by peer supporters and a lactation consultant if possible - keep asking for help. Bf didn't really work out for us until he was 5 mo old - looking back I was sometimes too proud /naive to ask for help. I had a lot of refusal/ over supply though so different issues.

Kellymom is also a great bf site.

[Clarella]

Yep reading your message again- try breast compressions and remember nose to nipple, chin on breast, he needs a big mouthful to get the nipple to the back of his mouth. Pressing gently between his shoulders/ neck area can sometimes help get a better latch, as does holding his bum in tightly.

Bizarrely I often found my son fed better when I walked about; I know know I held him in a better position as described above.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Thank you, i looked up flipple and am trying that. Health visitor today said she would get a visit for me from a bf person next week. I think my issue is that I didn't think there was an issue! He asks to be fed, I feed him. He's happy. He goes straight on, feeds, then either comes off or falls asleep. No fussing, no upset. Nappies fine. Sometimes he cluster feeds, sometimes he doesn't.

Hopefully he will have gained a good amount of weight next time he is weighed (Monday) and that will put my mind at ease.

[plummyjam]

I think sometimes MWs and HVs overcomplicate things by looking at the scales rather than the baby!

If he's happy, looks like he's getting bigger and he's feeding frequently without pain then I can't see what the problem is?

[plummyjam]

And cluster feeding for hours is totally normal, as is feeding little and often.

[LittleBearPad]

He sounds like he's doing great from what you say. Scales aren't the be all and end all. Flipple worked well for me but actually you should probably keep on what you're doing.

[LizzieLou3]

I think your MW has completely unnecessarily damaged your confidence. You sound like you're doing absolutely fine to me. Frequent feeding isn't anything to worry about and the last thing you should be thinking about at this stage is baby going longer between feeds.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Thank you. I've only just caught up with these last replies. Went to be weighed yesterday, he's lost 80g in the week so essentially the 40g he had gained plus the same again.

I have so far been told to feed one side til empty then offer the second - because they think by 'snacking' he never gets to the hind milk. To strip and change nappy if he falls asleep to encourage further feeding. To feed 5 min one side then 5 min other side and so on, doing breast compression. To feed him when he
asks. To not stimulate him between feeds. They don't seem to be listening.

[Sparrowlegs248]

They didcsay he looks very well and had lovely skin, good colour and is very alert and active. But wantt to weigh again Friday.

Again spent the evening being very upset as a result. DH is peed off with them and although tried to reassure me ended up in a bad mood. Which is irrelevant but doesn't help much.

[Duggee]

I've been breastfeeding for over 6 years now (different children!) and you sound like you are doing it perfectly! All mine lost 10% of their weight and except from my first had great latches. They all feed I'm a similar way to yours. You are demand feeding which is the best way to feed for an infant.

Theres a website called kellymom which has lots of great information if you need it.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Thanks Baffled. Thing is, I feed on demand. So (very loosely) he feeds a lot in the morning, has a proper nap lunch time ish. Feeds a lot afternoon, nap early tea time, then feeds again, sleeps around 8pm and feeds (last nights timings) 10.15, 1.30, 3.30, 6, 7.30 and again now.

I know he shouldn't be losing its that that is upsetting me.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Thanks Dugggee I assume the latch is ok. It looks ok, he doesn't have the widest open mouth but does have almost all of the nipple in and I don't have any soreness or misshapen nips.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Slightly hysterical at the notion of 'no more than 4 hrs between feeds....' Its so far never happened. More like feeding on and off for 4 hrs at a time.

[PosterEh]

I think their language is a bit off with all this nonsense about snacking and worries about fore/hind milk. But if you want to get babies weight up and have the pressure off a bit then their actual advice is ok.
Have a look at "kellymom" website above on switch nursing to help boost your supply and feed, feed, feed. You can't feed too much. So be a bit persistent about encouraging baby to take a bit more each feed (swap sides, jiggle, undress a bit) but don't stretch out the gap between feeds. Just aim to feed (a bit) more overall.

What baffled said about not letting baby go for more than 2hrs (start of feed to start of feed) will help too.

[PosterEh]

Notta

[Sparrowlegs248]

Thanks everyone, this is all really helpful. I have read the link above and it basically says that if there is a short gap between feeds then the hind milk will either still be there or won't take long to come through. So that's reassuring.

I honestly can't 'offer' any more feeds. I do try to keep him awake for feeds and will do more of this - such as the 10/11 pm feed, I was getting him changed and ready for bed then feeding til he slept. Now i am feeding, undressing, feeding, changing happy, feeding, dressing and feeding!